Investigators of the ECHO Cohort Consortium who are proposing a data-only ancillary study do not need to apply for an ECHO X01.

Investigators of the ECHO Cohort Consortium who are proposing to use biospecimens in an ancillary study must apply for an ECHO X01.

All non-ECHO Cohort Consortium investigators must apply to the ECHO X01 resource access mechanism regardless of whether they are requesting data or biospecimens.  The only exception is for investigators sponsored by an ECHO Cohort site to apply for training awards (e.g., K- and F-awards; see Question 4 for additional details); these investigators do not need to apply for an X01.

For Ancillary Studies and the ECHO X01, an “investigator of the ECHO Cohort Consortium” is any investigator (i.e., Principal Investigator, or Co-investigator) listed on an ECHO Cohort Consortium grant application as “key personnel” and who draws salary support from an active ECHO Cohort Consortium award.

The X01 resource access mechanism allows the NIH ECHO Program Office to oversee awardees’ adherence to NIH and ECHO-specific policies and procedures during performance of ECHO Cohort Ancillary Studies.

No, the ECHO X01 is not council reviewed and does not count towards the six application limit outlined in the NIH policy about Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications. (see: https://grants.nih.gov/faqs#/use-of-generative-ai-in-peer-review.htm?anchor=57512).  

No, the X01 is a resource access mechanism and provides investigators access to the ECHO Data Platform and/or ECHO biospecimens.

ECHO recommends that you apply to the ECHO X01 with the due date closest to your funding application due date. The ECHO X01 has three due dates per year to make applying near your funding application due date as convenient as possible. You can find the due dates at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-437.html.  

Please note, that you must receive a Letter of Support from the ECHO Cohort Consortium Steering Committee before applying to the X01, and you must include the Letter of Support as an attachment in you X01 application.

Important note: If you need funding and an ECHO X01, you should not wait until after you have received funding to apply for the ECHO X01. Waiting to apply to the ECHO X01 will delay your project. Ancillary studies that require an ECHO X01 cannot start until the earliest start date listed with their application due date in the announcement for the ECHO X01. Please review the announcement at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-437.html to find the earliest start dates listed for each ECHO X01 application due date.

Yes, you must receive a Letter of Support from the ECHO Cohort Consortium before applying to the X01, and you must include the Letter of Support as an attachment in you X01 application.

An ECHO Cohort Study Site, Core, or Center must sponsor the K or F award applicant and the sponsoring study site, core, or center must supply a data analyst for the project. Alternatively, the K or F award principal investigator may serve as the project analyst.

If these conditions are met, then they appropriately cover an applicant under the Exemptions clause in section IV.F. of the Ancillary Studies Policy.

As you move through the Letter of Support request process, please ensure that you draw attention to the fact that you meet these two conditions.

The purpose of Ancillary Studies is to facilitate analysis of the data already on the ECHO Data Platform, or new assay of biospecimens already in the Biorepository and subsequent Data Platform analysis once the assay data return. Since an ancillary study may involve a substantial portion of an R01’s specific aims, applying for an R01 to fund your ancillary study is completely appropriate. Still, from the time of funding, the time required to analyze data already on the platform should be relatively short—one to two years—compared to a 5-year R01, though timelines could be as long as 3-years in projects that require new biospecimen assays.